Tuesday, July 31, 2012

It's hard to believe that we're already more than half-way through the summer. Nearly 230 kids have already signed up for camp, and with four weeks to go, we're looking forward to seeing many more!

Aqua Quest in action

This year, we have added some new faces to our wonderful staff. Please welcome Samantha Ross, the Coastal Center's new Teacher/Naturalist; Caitlin Holmberg, Teacher/Naturalist from our Fairfield Center; and Caty Fairclough, our college summer intern. We're proud to say that Jane Piselli is now working full-time at Acadia National Park in Maine, so Kevin and Caitlin enjoy running the 5-7 & 7-9 year-old programs. We're blessed that our assistant counselors Amanda, Michael, Laura, Paige, Kim, and Courtney have all returned. They do an incredible job helping in all the classrooms. Diana, our early childhood specialist and long-time staffer, is having a another successful summer introducing our youngest campers to nature. Spaces are still available in most of our younger-kids camps.

Aqua Quest and Audubon Expeditions camps for older campers, always big hits, are all full, or nearly full, so we're opening another Aqua Quest adventure week in August, and we hope your child can join us. (For details, please see below and view this PDF file for more information and photos as well.)

Thank you to all the summer staff and most importantly to you, the campers and parents who support us in all that we do! Come join us for more fun; we look forward to seeing you soon.

Aqua Quest: "Naturalist Challenge II" August 6-10 — New!
We've added another Aqua Quest session for ages 8-12; it's a fun-filled week of combing our beaches, perusing local ponds, and exploring forests, streams, and meadows in search of local wildlife. We'll team up with our conservation biologists to band birds, catch turtles, tag butterflies, and search for rare species, all in a fun-filled week of science exploration. Spend an exciting afternoon canoeing in our marsh, and there may be a few s'more toasty treats at the end of the week. Join the fun. Special offer: $295.

To register, call Louise at 203-878-7440 x 502 or go online to the Coastal Center's page at www.ctaudubon.org.

So far, the kids have made some wonderful discoveries this year, finding dragonflies and butterflies, frogs and salamanders, and even baby horseshoe crabs. It's been a wonderful summer...

Monday, July 30, 2012

I wanted to post the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds data update here so all of you could see the changing results as we are about to enter the last month of the monitoring season. Piping Plovers are on the way south, American Oystercatchers and young are spreading out a bit, and both tern species are still finishing up raising their young.

Least Tern Volunteer and staff surveys:
24 adults at Salt Island on 7/23
12 adults, 5 nests at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/23
12 adults at Milford Point on 7/23
25 adults, 1 nest at Long Beach on 7/23
1 adult at Pleasure Beach on 7/23
8 adults at Milford Point on 7/23
80+ adults, 76 chicks, 25 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/23
8 adults at Milford Point on 7/24
21 adults 1 nest at Long Beach on 7/24
14 adults at Stratford Point on 7/24
18 adults, 4 juveniles, 7 nests at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/24
76+ adults, 46+ chicks, 58+ nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/24
14 adults, 2 juveniles at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/25
4 adults at Bluff Point on 7/25
30 adults at Long Beach on 7/25
100 adults, 20 chicks at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/25
40 individuals at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/25
19 adults, 1 nest at Long Beach on 7/26
3 adults at Silver Sands State Park on 7/26
12 adults, 1 nest at Milford Point on 7/26
2 adults, 1 nest at Bluff Point on 7/27
2 adults at Bluff Point on 7/27
15 adults, 2 juveniles, 4 nests at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/27
6 adults at Long Beach on 7/28
10 adults at Long Beach on 7/28
1 pair, 10 adults at Milford Point on 7/28
1 adult at Silver Sands State Park on 7/28
11 adults at Stratford Point on 7/29
25 adults at Milford Point on 7/29
50-100 adults, 33 chicks, 28 juveniles, 5 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/29
20 adults at Long Beach on 7/29

Common TernVolunteer and staff surveys:
4 adults at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/23
75 adults/juveniles at Milford Point on 7/23
6 adults, 2 chicks at Long Beach on 7/23
100-130 adults, 2 chicks at Milford Point on 7/23
51+ adults, 1 chick, 6 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/23
5 adults at Silver Sands State Park on 7/24
6 adults at Milford Point on 7/24
220 adults/juveniles at Stratford Point on 7/24
13 adults at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/24
57 adults, 2 juveniles, 11 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/24
50 individuals at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/25
1 pair at Long Beach on 7/26
6 adults at Silver Sands State Park on 7/26
75 adults/juveniles at Milford Point on 7/26
8 adults at Bluff Point on 7/27
41 adults, 1 juvenile at Bluff Point on 7/27
10 adults at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/27
8 adults at Long Beach on 7/28
1 adult at Pleasure Beach on 7/28
1 adult at Long Beach on 7/28
7 adults at Milford Point on 7/28
450 adults/juveniles at Stratford Point on 7/29
350 adults/juveniles at Milford Point on 7/29
206 adults, 6 nests at Cockenoe Island on 7/29
57 adults, 2 juveniles, 4 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/29
3 adults at Long Beach on 7/29

This concludes update #20 through 7/30/12 as of 3:30 p.m.

If you were not a part of the AAfCW this year, we hope you will be next season! There is no better time to get a feel for the 2013 endeavor than now, and if you want to join the ranks please email ctwaterbirds@gmail.com. As you can tell we are already planning next season before this one is over - our work never ends.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Would you like to help us better document usage of key habitats by shorebirds and other coastal waterbirds, but don't have time to do International Shorebird Surveys? Now there is an easy way! If you come across any concentrations of shorebirds, terns or wading birds (herons and egrets), or any American Oystercatchers or Piping Plovers, simply log your sightings into eBird and when you're done, share your sighting with ctwaterbirds@gmail.com. Please also include the amount of time spent birding and define your location on your observation so we can track volunteer effort and organize the sightings by location.

This will allow us to better track the areas in Connecticut that are being utilized by migrant and nesting birds. We have a good understanding of where all of the herons and egrets nest in Connecticut (with the exception of bitterns, Green Heron, Great Blue Heron and Yellow-crowned Night-Heron), but we do need to better document the areas that these colonial nesters are utilizing to find the food to sustain their growing chicks and in the post-nesting-season dispersal. Additionally, we would like to better understand the areas that are used by terns for post-nesting staging and/or foraging and areas used by migrant shorebirds for foraging or roosting. This will allow us to concentrate our formal efforts, including International Shorebird Surveys, in the areas that will have the greatest impact.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

As discussed earlier this week, we are not experiencing a severe drought here in Connecticut despite the suffering seen in over half of the country. However, we are maintaining a constant way above average temperature profile in our state. More rain and severe storms this week, and especially today with a high risk of very severe weather, will help us get right back on track to seeing average precipitation. So what in the heck is up with all of the reports of low water levels and drier than average conditions?

To some degree, we have been at a water deficit, but that only makes up a small portion of the problem. Back in March, I posted about what Twan and I had experienced in the Aspetuck Land Trust's Trout Brook Valley during a day of surveying vernal pools. At a date when it would not be unexpected to see snowfall in Connecticut, we had tens of pools with amphibians popping out of them and egg masses everywhere. I wrote that, "Twan knew it would be a good time to find some of them active and
possibly breeding in this unbelievably warm weather and our results
backed up both his optimism for the habitat and the conditions." While this made for an exciting day and some wonderful finds, there was another issue with the beautiful March weather we had:

However, there is one major problem - most of the eggs you see above of
all species will likely die because the vernal pools are evaporating and
drying out at a much faster rate than usual (you can see the beginning
of this with the Wood Frog eggs). Twan remarked that some of the pools
had water levels they normally would in June or July. Once again
abnormally warm weather is to blame, and without any snow melt
whatsoever or much in the way of rain lately, the majority of these will
perish if we do not have substantial and sustained amounts of rain
soon. Amphibians really do put all of their eggs in one basket, and they
may not have another chance to breed until next spring.

Climate change alters every single system on the planet, and while we
have all enjoyed lovely weather and flowers blooming a month early, it
is wreaking havoc on the rest of the world around us. Not only do we
have to do much more to protect sensitive vernal pool habitats and the
threatened and conservation priority species that inhabit them, we have
to now cope with a changing world that is throwing everything off.

All of the articles we read about needing rain so desperately often entirely ignore the fact that we only need this rain because we did not get the expected late winter snowfall, and neither did any locations to our north where snowmelt from March through May would fill waterways leading down to us. As I mentioned there, the way above average warmth dried out these vernal pools and many other water sources, from small creeks to sizable ponds, even lowering some of the larger streams and rivers in the state. They also ignore the temperature changes, as is par for the course in climate change non-denial-but-still-really-denial.

Twan was right on the mark with the pools being three to four months ahead of schedule as they dried out very quickly in many cases. After a strong May and very productive June, many species of odonates have been largely absent from many areas I would expect to find them, or are seen in greatly reduced numbers. I have often discovered only very old adults with tattered wings and discolored abdomens. Hiking through the Jump Hill and Crow Hill sections of the Trout Brook Valley Conservation area last week yielded only Ebony Jewelwing and a single Great Blue Skimmer. These areas are usually rich with vernal pools, springs, and small streams, some featuring large swampy areas favored by the latter species and many more. I found only one pool with any water in it. This - a dry vernal pool and evaporated swamp - is what I saw just about everywhere.

The lack of snowfall and warm spring season did most of the damage, and the very hot weather, still far above average, only continued the evaporation of many water sources at a faster than usual rate. The completely dry pools evaporated at least two or three months ahead of schedule remembering that Twan mentioned our March finds were typical of June or July, with pools getting lower and egg masses becoming exposed only then for the most part. As it turns out, we will need above average snowfall and rainfall in order to simply maintain the status quo considering our temperature conundrum. We are going to have to hope our seasons play out "normally" in the future, or closer to it, but that hope lies in stark contrast to the new reality we will have to accept because of climate change.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds are looking for assistance in removing string fencing from Long Beach in Stratford, Milford Point in Milford, and Bluff Point in Groton. Right now, we are targeting the week of August 13. The more hands we have the faster this work goes, and we would love to have anyone come to help in any way. If you are available and willing to help that week, please tell us what site(s) you can assist with and what day(s) you are available by emailing us at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com. That way we can best coordinate staff and volunteer availability in this busy time of year. Any time that you give also provides us with more critical volunteer hours to put to the project.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Another year, another chance to write about how the first six months of this new year was the hottest ever. This repetition is very sadly true for the United States, and especially for our region. The title of "warmest year on record" through the month of June was given to a whopping 116 long-term climate and weather stations across the country. Dozens more recorded some of their warmest years ever, with the few omissions mostly coming from geographically unique or distant areas like the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, the deserts of the southwest, and Hawaii.

The year has been different from any we have ever seen before. Bridgeport's gap between even the next closest year is ridiculous, and almost seems flawed. You will note that both locations saw below average temperatures in January and February, with the caveat that less data points in those months makes the data more volatile. This year, while admittedly a meaningless sample in the grand scheme, fits in line with the general disastrous theme of global climate change - extremes. We are going to be seeing colder winters and hotter summers, with less of the "seasons" in between (it almost does not feel like a four seasonal shift at some points now already). When I was a child, I even recall a more steady flow between winter and spring than we have now, with years like this one becoming more frequent. I have lived in Stratford my entire life and seen the changes taking place all around me.

The dramatic change from snow and frigid air to 70 degrees this March was lovely at the time, but could spell doom for much of the life in our part of the country. Vernal pools, for example, are completely novel to the northeast. Our region has experienced some of the most change in terms of temperature, far beyond our Connecticut stations. Stations in Boston and Worcester Massachusetts have seen their hottest year so far, too. So have New York City and the two airport stations, plus Albany, Binghamton, and Syracuse, as well as Providence, Rhode Island.

Vernal pools are a critical component for countless species, many that are already imperiled and of high conservation concern. If we have many more years like this one the species that inhabit these pools could be in dire straits. This leads back to the discussion on apparent-but-not-actual drought I mentioned in this post, and I will discuss this more in another post later this week.

Monday, July 23, 2012

I mentioned how much of a hot summer (and period of years) we have been having back in this post. I will talk about temperature in my next post, but I wanted to focus first on something we have been hearing about even in the mainstream media here in Connecticut - drought conditions.

Most of the reason it has made national news is because the U.S. is facing one of the worst natural disasters of all-time. A staggering 1,016 counties in 26 states have been declared natural disaster areas by the USDA. There has been very little rainfall across broad swaths of the country during these hot spring and summer seasons. So how about Connecticut? There have been many anecdotal reports of "this stream has never run dry" by those who frequent the woods and "my crops are dying for water" from local farmers. However, we are actually in excellent shape compared to the rest of the country.

These graphics, courtesy of the U.S. drought monitor, show Connecticut with only minimal "very dry" conditions across about 63.5% of the state while the remaining approximately 36.5% of our lands along the coast are normal.

This was valid as of July 17, meaning the rain we received last week across the state did not even factor into this. We actually had a lot of the wet stuff with multiple days featuring showers and thunderstorms dumping well over an inch in many areas. I would expect Connecticut to be entirely normal next week. When we venture back to the U.S. as a whole, things get a lot uglier.

The sheer size of the disaster ranks it high on the list in our history. Later this week, I'll address some of the reason behind our precipitation and drought levels being near normal yet apparent "drought" conditions persisting in some parts of Connecticut.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Tropical Storm Irene annihilated a great number of trees along coastal Connecticut in 2011 only to be followed by a similar destruction in the Snowtober "winter" storm for inland areas. We lost a great deal of valuable vegetation, but we also had the benefit of having many non-native and/or invasive species wiped off our map. These are often more sensitive to the natural forces of our region, not having adapted to survive here in conditions other than typical ones.

In a lot of places I've seen these undesirable species fighting back with fury, blooming or expanding as quickly as possible despite being destroyed. As an example, this Black Locust growth is a result of an entire tree being ripped apart with the tattered remains chainsawed down to the stump. It has tried to grow back through this stump and roots up to 50 feet away with dozens of shoots popping up everywhere through the grass. Below is a very tiny depiction of this.

While native to the continent at least (the southeast), the Black Locust is an invasive species that can dominate an area and push out others. This sprouting and the extremely wide-spread roots along with the fast speed of the regrowth only help display how much of a problem it can be. And to think this is one of our least concerns when it comes to invasive plants...

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

The Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds is offering a series of free shorebird identification seminars at the Connecticut Audubon Society's Milford Point Coastal Center. These seminars are scheduled around tides so they are somewhat irregularly spaced. The focus will be on shorebirds, terns and other coastal waterbirds. The goal is to end sessions by 9:00 PM.

Thursday, July 26th, 6:00 PM. Field session followed by a one hour indoor general shorebird presentation. High tide 5:36 PM.

Thursday, August 9th, 6:00 PM. Field session followed by birding by ear for shorebirds and coastal waterbirds indoors. High tide 5:25 PM.

Tuesday, September 11th, 5:00 PM. Field session followed by indoor presentation focusing on advanced shorebird and tern ID. We had to push this one earlier because of 7:07 PM sunset. High tide 8:24 PM.

Attendance at all three sessions is not mandatory, but the goal is to make it worthwhile to attend all three as we will seek to minimize overlap of materials covered. The leader will be Patrick Comins, but additional staff from the two Audubons, including Sean Graesser, will likely assist. Space is limited! Please contact us at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com. Pre-registration is required due to limited space. These seminars are free.

The Audubon Alliance is a joint venture of Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, with funding from the Long Island Sound Futures Fund, Cross Foundation, Jeniam Foundation and Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.

The birds are on the move, whether this is dispersal of young birds from breeding grounds, failed nesting adults who are wandering, or already southbound migrants heading out of our state. These migratory movements include swallows like Barn and Tree, Bobolinks, Yellow Warblers, Orchard Orioles, and much more. The group most noticeable among birders is the shorebirds as hundreds and thousands pile in to our beaches, mudflats, and marshes. Many rarities and oddities will be found in the next two months.

Of course, the very next day Frank Mantlik found a rare Stilt Sandpiper at the pool which seems to be sticking around. Isn't that the way it works most of the time? I can only hope that it will be there for another week in time for my next scheduled survey. Please do consider helping out with an ISS as an excuse to get out and see all of the cool birds we have moving through.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

We have had a couple of recent returns on the color banded Purple Martins from Gazebo Phil's two gourd trees. One of these was a martin at Greenwich Point Park that CT DEEP told us about during this year's banding session. However, another was even closer to our home as later that very day the banding team found a female nesting at the Coastal Center at Milford Point! I took this photo last week right before sunset, and while it is dark and heavily cropped, you can clearly see the silver federal band and the red Connecticut color band signifying that it came from Gazebo Phil's. I could read the "CT" on this band, but not the number itself.

These birds were banded last year by CT DEEP and CAS. They made the long journey to South America and came back to sites we would expect - nearby areas that have relatively new housing for martins, allowing young and first-year birds like these to take up residence instead of being beaten to the punch by older adults who return weeks earlier in the spring season in order to stake out the best nesting sites or reclaim their home from the previous year. With the number of color banded martins across the state now reaching four digits, we can expect more to be seen here in Connecticut and to our south. Please take an especially careful look at any Purple Martins you see as they begin to shift around and trickle to the south ahead of their August exodus.

Friday, July 13, 2012

It feels like I am posting about this very often, and that is because I am - our country is getting hotter by the year (more on that soon), and Connecticut is no exception. The last time I posted about monthly averages being astronomically higher than usual here in March we were at a pace that would be dangerous to continue for all life in our state. Fortunately, we backed off that degree of deviation, but here is where we have been over the course of the very hot last eight and a half months:

Well...at least the Hartford area broke the streak as they put up a perfectly average June. However, on the southwest coast the multi-year trend continues. Hartford would normally have 23.63 inches of rain through today since January 1, though they have only seen 17.20 fall. Bridgeport is not much better at an average of 22.64 but only coming up with 17.82 inches. These are significant deficits, and while they have not been crippling to us as of yet in terms of typical water usage, when added to the extremely hot conditions it has meant that small creeks and streams plus vernal pools have dried up all the faster this year, limiting or eliminating the breeding of everything from frogs and salamanders to odonates.

That is only scratching the very basic surface of our now disastrous climate as it runs out of control faster than most of the already dire predictions. Climate change is not a topic of consideration for the future or a peril that may befall us in decades - it is happening now, every day, affecting every aspect of life on this planet. We are in deep trouble, and it is time to start spreading the word with a little more vigor and haste. It is not fear mongering when it is something we should all truly be very frightened of.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

The post you may have seen with the Milford Point summer campers visiting the Trout Brook Valley preserve was a part of "The Big Week" for the crew. Coastal Center Director Frank Gallo tells me:

We were trying to see as many species of creatures as we could throughout the state within a week. We concentrated on birds, dragonflies, and butterflies, but also recorded mushrooms and interesting plants and other insects, such as the American Dung Beetle (seen in that last post). It was sort of an alumni week, with all the kids having come to many other camps in the past. It was really a fun exercise and experience. It included two overnights - one at the Coastal Center where we made smores and one in Pomfret where we camped out at Wolf Den State Park and did some grassland birding. We went to Boston Hollow to find northern-nesting birds and unusual dragonflies, such as, Dot-tailed Whiteface.

Here are just some of the photos from the week - what can you identify?

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Have you been enjoying the beginning of southbound shorebird migration here in Connecticut? Do you regularly go out shorebirding in the next few months at Connecticut hotspots or a favorite patch? Would you be willing to do just a little more this season for conservation? We at the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds (AAfCW) need your help to complete International Shorebird Surveys (ISS), initiated by the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, from July 15 through the end of October.

We would love to have as many volunteers as possible participate in these surveys in addition to our staff. All of the details, including the full directions, data sheets, and site forms for describing your new location are listed here on the AAfCW blog in the right-hand column under the "Important Documents" heading: http://ctwaterbirds.blogspot.com/

We realize the directions and information may look a little intimidating, but apart from filling out a form about your chosen site, all these surveys amount to is regularly visiting a great shorebird spot approximately three times per month and tallying all of the birds you see. There are even different scheduling options in the documents if you cannot make it out to survey that often. You will then enter your data in the ISS eBird portal, share the checklist with us at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com, and you are set. Please read the information and consider contributing some of your time for these valuable surveys. At the very least it will compel you to get out and enjoy shorebirding even more in the next few months. Our staff will be conducting them as well, so please email us if you are interested and so we can set aside your chosen location.

These surveys are one of the most significant sources of monitoring information for shorebirds in North America. The data collected is used to document major shorebird migration staging areas, monitor shorebird population changes, and evaluate the effects of catastrophic events, such as storms and oil spills, on shorebirds.

Thank you for the consideration! Feel free to shoot us an email at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com with any other questions or comments you may have as well, or email me directly at skruitbosch@ctaudubon.org. I know how many amazingly awesome shorebirders we have out there in our state, and I also know that even if a handful of you sign up to help that it will be a tremendous boost for both the ISS program and our own work in the AAfCW.

Monday, July 9, 2012

The Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds had a very busy week on the beaches, and at a number of fireworks displays across the state. Our Piping Plovers, American Oystercatchers, Least Terns, and Common Terns made it through everything exceptionally well, and there were only minor disturbances at best. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who came out to one of our sites for a night of fireworks, visited one of the eastern beaches to assist this weekend, or surveyed critical locations in the last week. Your extra eyes made our work that much easier and helped protect a number of birds, especially young and many still nesting, while also providing a great deal of education for what we have heard from you was a very receptive public.

From this point in the season through the end of August the beaches will see a lot of traffic. We hope to see all of you out there and that those of you new to volunteering and monitoring will sign up with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for next season. It can be a very rewarding experience to know that you helped the lives of the birds we all care for so very much while also bringing others into the world of conservation. For more information on anything pertaining to our program or instructions on how to sign up as an official USFWS volunteer please email either myself at skruitbosch@ctaudubon.org or the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Connecticut Audubon Society joined the talented Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection banding crew from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on July 5 and banded all of Gazebo Phil’s Purple Martin chicks. CAS staff assisted DEEP staff and volunteers in lowering the gourd trees, removing the young ones from each gourd, transporting them to be banded, aged, weighed, and more. DEEP places a silver federal band with a unique number on each bird as well as specific color bands to identify individual birds from a distance – our birds are sporting red bands, as they did last year. The total number of chicks banded was 174, down a little from the 185 that were banded in 2011.

However, this may be only because of the fact this year’s gourds had much older chicks on average at around the same date, and it is likely a handful had already fledged. While we were placing them back into the gourds, a few of the young took flight for the first time, sneaking out of their gourd and soaring through the sky. A couple others hopped on the ground, not quite ready, and were placed right back in their home. Additionally, two of the gourds had four egg nests, probably from young birds that arrive later than their older counterparts and have less experience in breeding. Unfortunately, we did find a couple hatchlings that had died in the nest as well. One of those chicks still had six more brothers and sisters in the gourd – a very large family! Having to feed so many young often ends up in the death of one or two chicks. Of course none of the chicks or adults died in this process, and all were quite safe, only a little agitated for a short period of time.

There were also plenty of dragonfly parts here there and everywhere. I identified Common Green Darner, Spot-winged Glider, Twelve-spotted Skimmer, and Black Saddlebags making up most of the Purple Martin prey flying around us with the birds. I also found a Red Admiral butterfly that was probably a lost meal. Let us hope we will have more band returns in the upcoming "fall" migration. During banding we learned from DEEP that one of last year’s chicks has a nest at Greenwich Point Park! This is the sort of information we hope to learn more frequently as time goes on with thousands of color-banded Purple Martins from across Connecticut. An upcoming post will show you another banded martin we found a little closer to "home"...

Thursday, July 5, 2012

I post this canoe trip information from Coastal Center Director Frank Gallo because it is always a great opportunity to get out and see some beautiful and scarcely viewed birds up close! Milford Point is one of the best fall migration birding spots in the state and one of the most important conservation areas. Believe it or not, "fall" migration has begun as birds start to head south post-breeding. These trips are great for people of all ages and experience levels.

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Family Canoe Programs

Through the Charles E. Wheeler Salt Marsh
The 840-acre Wheeler Marsh at Milford Point is home to many rare and unusual nesting bird species including Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Glossy Ibis, Clapper Rail, Willet, American Oystercatcher, Least Tern, Gadwall, Marsh Wren, Seaside and Saltmarsh Sparrows. As the summer progresses, a variety of migrating shorebirds, terns, and herons can also be seen.

Join us on a guided canoe tour of the Charles Wheeler Salt Marsh. Steeped in local history, the Marsh offers an abundance of birds and other wildlife, beautiful vistas and a chance to paddle and relax. Bring water, a snack, and wear shoes that can get wet. Contact the Coastal Center for more information. Trip routes are subject to change due to weather. Wind may cause trips to be canceled, even on sunny days; please call 1-1.5 hours in advance for trip status. Advance registration required. Sign-up early for these popular tours! Inquire about tour dates in October. (* Bring a lunch on these days.)

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

The Purple Martins at Gazebo Phil's are growing larger by the minute. They fill up much of the gourd and the camera space at this point. They are going to get to enjoy having our company tomorrow as Connecticut Audubon Society will join the Connecticut
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and Gazebo Phil at his
gourd trees to band all of the Purple Martin chicks. They will place a
silver federal band with a unique number on each bird as well as color
bands to identify individual birds from a distance. These bands are so
exceptionally light that the birds will not even feel them on their
legs. No part of this process will hurt the chicks. Banding will give us
valuable information about the young birds and hopefully allow them to
be spotted and identified, due to their unique color combinations,
during migration or back here next spring.

Banding was completed last year to perfection, with no birds harmed
or even disturbed in any significant way. CT DEEP staff will set up something
similar to an assembly line. There will be someone retrieving the birds
from the gourds, someone aging chicks, another person weighing the
birds, a couple of banders placing the different band types on, someone
bringing the birds back home, and more. We will be able to update you
all with how many adults and chicks are present at the conclusion of
banding. Do not worry about the adults, either. They may be a little
upset that we are hanging out at their homes for a while, but they will
instantly go back to feeding the chicks once we finish, and the work
will be done in a flash. This is a regular process completely annually
across the state. We cannot wait to see how many chicks we band - given
that last year's total was 185, how many do you think we will end up
with?

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Here is another crossover post I wrote moments ago to our Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds volunteers with an important request concerning the project and activities on eastern Connecticut beaches this weekend.

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We are looking for some more volunteers to assist the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in monitoring at Bluff Point and Harkness Memorial State Park on Saturday, July 7. Opsail, a tall ship event, is happening on Saturday morning beginning at 9AM and Harkness has asked for help during this time. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend, and while they will certainly not all be viewing the ships from Harkness, they are expecting the park to reach capacity. Volunteers can aid AAfCW staff to cover the eastern and western boundaries of the Piping Plover nesting area to prevent visitors from using that beach. DEEP is working to allow any persons helping to enter the park free of charge (USFWS ID will likely be necessary). Park staff will be able to handle the afternoon on their own at Harkness.

However, during the afternoon and evening on July 7 we need assistance at nearby Bluff Point as there is a large fireworks display in the Groton/New London area on Saturday evening. The number of people expected to be viewing from Bluff Point is relatively small, but it is imperative to have enough staff and volunteers to keep people out of the fenced areas, prevent them from setting off their own fireworks, and prevent chicks from being stepped on. People will be needed (in addition to DEEP and AAfCW staff) in the afternoon to keep visitors from setting up in the wrong places and for all of the above in the evening throughout the display. Any extra monitoring that can be completed at Bluff Point during the week, with young Piping Plover and Least Tern chicks all over and additional nests, would be greatly appreciated as well. DEEP is very concerned about the large number of young birds in the area and the high traffic the beach will see the entire week. Any hour here or there to help them out would be fantastic, and our staff will be there as much as possible as well.

Please email us at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com to tell us you will be at either location Saturday or if you have any questions. You do not have to email us prior to extra time you spend at Bluff Point during the week to watch the chicks and nests. Thank you so much for the consideration and constant efforts!

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Even if you are not a registered USFWS volunteer you can help out by emailing ctwaterbirds@gmail.com or spend some time watching out for the birds on the beach this week on your own. We need all the assistance we can get to ensure the safety of the birds in what has been a very successful year thus far, especially for Piping Plovers.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Coastal Center Director Frank Gallo took some of his summer camp group to the Trout Brook Valley preserve, part of the Aspetuck Land Trust, last week to find some of the many varieties of life it holds. Our ongoing survey and management planning for the over 1,000-acre property has yielded a high number of conservation priority species. It has also be shown to hold a large number of other scarce or uncommon migrant and breeding birds that are difficult to find in other areas of the heavily developed Fairfield County.

I joined Frank and the kids along with one of our waterbird technicians, Sean Graesser, to examine some odes, leps, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. It was a cool and somewhat cloudy day, making it a little quiet for birds, but perfect for spotting some species that need to be in the sun in such weather as some new odonates were found in open clearings trying to heat up. The kids also examined some of the other insects present such as this American Dung Beetle.

Their best find was another species enjoying the cool weather - another Eastern Box Turtle!

This turtle was found far from the location of the first that Twan discovered last month and is definitely another individual. It seems this female was looking for a place to lay eggs. The kids had a great time and we had a lot more data to add to our conservation plans. It always surprises me how often summer camp groups and children on walks can uncover some of the most intriguing and important things...

Who are we?

Connecticut Audubon Society conserves Connecticut’s environment through science-based education and advocacy focused on the state’s bird populations and habitats. Founded in 1898, Connecticut Audubon Society operates nature facilities in Fairfield, Milford, Glastonbury and Pomfret as well as an EcoTravel office in Essex and an Environmental Advocacy program in Hartford. Connecticut Audubon Society manages 19 wildlife sanctuaries around the state, preserves over 2,600 acres of open space in Connecticut and educates over 200,000 children and adults annually. Working exclusively in the state of Connecticut for over 100 years, Connecticut Audubon Society is an independent organization, not affiliated with any national or governmental group.